Phillies Season Ends In Utter Disgrace

The 2011 Phillies won a franchise record 102 games in the regular season. They finished the regular season with the best record in baseball. They assembled one of the strongest pitching staffs in modern history. They even pulled off a blockbuster trade at the July deadline to acquire the righthanded power bat that their offense badly needed.

They couldn’t score one run in Game 5 of the NLDS, at home, with Roy Halladay tossing an eight-inning gem, to save their season. All they could muster was three measly hits. Red October lasted all of seven days this year.

Everything this team has accomplished since April is all for nothing now. They’ll go down as one of the most disappointing teams in Philadelphia sports history. What they’ll be remembered for is how small they came up when it mattered most. Collectively, this team just flat out failed. Maybe they just expected the World Series title to be handed to them, and something like an NLDS victory was simply a given.

Most disappointing was the failures of the offense. The lineup as its currently constructed just isn’t good enough to win a World Series. Two years in a row now, they’ve let down in the postseason. As a group, they have such a feeble, undisciplined approach to every at-bat. They swing at terrible pitches, and they rarely make a pitcher work.

In the fourth inning, Chris Carpenter began the frame by hitting Chase Utley with a pitch. Two pitches later, the St. Louis ace had two outs. Hunter Pence swung at the first pitch, and nearly grounded into a double play. Ryan Howard followed Pence with a soft lineout, again swinging at the first pitch.

Look at these batting averages in the postseason.

Hunter Pence (.211)

Ryan Howard (.105)

Raul Ibanez (.200)

Placido Polanco (.105)

Carlos Ruiz (.059)

The Cardinals had only one of their regular players, Lance Berkman, hit less than .200 in the series. And Berkman still managed to have a significant impact on the series, driving in four runs.

The lineup needs either develop a dramatically different, much more patient plate approach next season, a major shakeup, or possibly both. The last two years have been difficult to watch. The way the lineup is currently constructed just isn’t working, and they’re the biggest reason for the team’s failures in the last two seasons. Something has to change.

28 Comments for “Phillies Season Ends In Utter Disgrace”

Great Article!!! Utley and Rollins usually stink too in playoffs. Utley .167 in Ws 2008, .182 in last yr Giants series.Rolins in 08 and 09 WS was a lovely .227 and .217. Howard is #1 cause of his contract.

Too old & over paid! They went out like a bunch of wimpering punks! Who you gonna blame now JRoll!? Roll your behind right out of town, & take Howard, Utley, Polanco, & Ibanez with you! Howard is the biggest, overrated, over paid stiff, in the majors, right behind A-Roid! This is the biggest disgrace & disappointment that I’ve ever seen or felt. This is worse than the Birds choke job in 2004! CHOKING LOSERS! They ought to be ashamed of themselves, & bury their heads in their CHOKING LOSERS!

the Phillies need a youth injection….. keep the pitching staff intact and add youth in the middle infield and find a 3rd baseman who can hit with some pop….

I would give Mayberry & Brown the LF platoon job, bring up Galvis at SS, somehow add a 3rd baseman who fits in the middle of the lineup, preferably behind Howard. Althought I am not a Howard fan, dont think he is going anywhere, but if I was GM, shop him to the AL and sign Pujols.

#1) Pay out Oswalt’s Option on his contrcat saving about $16-18 Million and use that Mmoeny to lock up HAmels to a long term Deal
#2) Flat out release Ibanez,Lidle,Gload,Francisco, Schneider
#3) Package a trade with Blanton and Polanco though they will have to pay a poriton of their Salaries (maybe to Baltimore or Chicago White Sox or Cubs)
#4) Offer J-Rollins a 2 Year Deal with a 3rd Year option at around $5 Million per season with performance incentives for games played or hitting certain #’s
But nothing more and if he want’s big bucks, then let him walk..
#5) Sign Madson to a 3 Year Deal giving him the Security he is looking for and desrves..not crazy money but a fair deal that Closers get

New players to add

3B- Aramis Ramirez a Free-Agent (good glove and potential 30 Hr-100RBI bat who would be a perfect #5 HItter behind Howard but will command big bucks and is 33 years old but has a few good years in him,,,

Must add at least 1 LHP Pitcher to the Bullpen and preferably 2.
Add a back-up Catcher who can actually play and contribute so Ruiz can get a break more often and not have to play every day to help stay fresh.. Add a untility IF/OF as a 5th OF/back-up 1B, Pinch Hitter… (Maybe get Greg Dobbs
back who had a nice season with the Marlins)

As far as any everyday player, I would listen t oany offers concerning Victorino or Utley and keep everything on the table as far a simproving this team.. They have to get more athletic , and especially in the IF where Polanco,Rollins and Utley have all lost a step and have diminished range,, (they make the plays on balls hit to them but the problem is they don’t have the range to make plays on balls hit a few steps from them or in the hole like they used to)

Upgrade their bench.. and team speed.. and play more small ball which is what the good teams are able to do..The Pitching and Teams in the NL have gotten better, the Braves,NAtionals ,Cardinals.Brewers,Reds,Arizona,Rockies,SF Giants all have good pieces in place to be contenders like the Phils do for next season but their is no doubt, that this present team’s run is over and it’s time to get younger and not rely on the 3 Run HR to bail them out, the have to hit, steal bases, bunt tunners, hit and run , sac flys do all the little things they haven’t worked on or worried about as much in prior seasons, the down side is that this is not the way Charlie Manuel manages’ so the club needs to get on same page on who and how to build a roster to generate more runs.. I think we are in a era of better Pitching and better Defense where runs are garder to come by and teams have to play more small ball to compete .. This years #’s bear that out.. In this post-Steroid era, I don’t think we will see 2-3-4 Players on teams all having 35-40 HR’s and 110-130 RBI’s.. Probably a combination of Better Pitching, and the fact that players are not using Steroids anymore..

Very dissappointing end to the season. This team has lost that hunger and it pains me to admit that the Cardinals players had it. The Cardinals hitters gave a professional at-bat everytime up, letting balls go by, fouling off close pitches and working the count in thier favor, ultimately getting a pitch to hit. 1 thru 9 the Cardinals are probably not as good as Philly, but make up for that with attitude and approach. The Phillies never had a lead-off hitter on base or made a pitcher work to get outs. The Phillies are now an oldish, light hitting team that needs to play small ball, but were still playing to hit the three run homer. I’m confident that Rueben will get it fixed this off season. IMO listen to any reasonable offers for Howard or Utley. Let Rollins walk and bring up Galvis. Gone are Oswalt, Lidge, Schnieder, Francisco. Re-sign Madson and Hamels. Polanco becomes your super-utility guy for the last year of his contract and a third baseman needs to be obtained. A. Ramirez or possibly a trade for D. Wright. If we can in fact sucker an American League Team into taking Howard as a DH for 25M, than I pursue P. Fielder for the same money Howard was making. Lots of options here, lets hope they get right for next year.

I don’t care what anyone says, we had a game taken away from us by Jerry Meals. That guy does not deserve to be anywhere near home plate. He completely changed a Cy Young pitcher in a game with a 4 – 0 lead. That was our game and Jerry Meals once again umped an incompetent game.

Look around the League.. 1B is one of the Strongest positions in all of baseball and the teams with the $$ who could afford Howard already have as good or better 1B (Texiera,Gonzales,Freeman,Cabrera,The Angels have a good young one whose name escapes me)
Then you add Puljos and Fielder to the marker and there is no team that will pay the kind of $$$ for Howard (the Phils are stuck with him)
If the Cardinals lose Puljos to the Cubs or Marlins, then Cardinals put Berkman at 1B . I see Fielder signing with the Cubs,Oriolesor possibly re-sigining with the Brewers

I would entertain and trade talks involving Utley or Victorinoas long as good players and value were offered in return..

The Mets could be a player for they have some highly paid players that they really can’t afford to keep them all SS J Reyes, 3B D Wright and LF Jason Bay.. (probably 2 of these 3 players willl not be back with the Mets)
The Mets would not take any big salary players in return so any delas would have to include young players.. (like a Worley,Stutes,etc,etc,)

I disagree RTB,
Top PItchers when on their top of the Games adjust to the Home Umpries..
Cliff Lee had the ball up all game and didn’t have his usual control which caused him to lose the lead and in essence, changed the entire Series and put the Series in the Cards favor… If not for Ben Francisco ‘s 3 Run HR in Game 3, this Series would have been over in 4 games.. This Phils were Out-Hit, Out-Pitched and Out-Managed in this Series (just like they were against the SF Giants last year)

no human being that understands baseball or pitch sequence would say otherwise. even post game live said the same thing. it was blatantly obvious to anyone who watched that game that cliff lee was pitching strikes. he got not love on close calls or even from strikes in the strike zone. jerry meals is bullshit. so quit acting like you know what the fuck you’re talking about paulman. hell go google jerry meals and cliff lee, it’s not just me saying it.

Who cares about Jerry Meals, The Cardinals were the better team in 4 of the 5 games played and if the Phils would have beaten them a coupld games when they Visited at CBP, then the Phils would have played the Arizona Cardinals in the 1st Round.. They made their own bed and now it’s time to sleep in it for the off-season.. No blame game, they failed to perform at a high-level which is needed come playoff time to advance and be a Champion.. Regular Season Records mean absolutely bunk over a 6 month season… I will continue to call them as I see them ..

meant to mention that when the Cards visited CBP in mid-September and took 2 of 3 from the Phils, they could have help to eliminate them and gain the upper hand.. Instead they gave th eCardinals even great confidence of coming into to Philly to win 2 of 3 in opening round of PLayoffs..

Howard ain’t going anywhere, & you can forget adding any high priced free agents! Howard has a ruptured achilles, which will side him for most of the season! So you’re stuck with his ridiculous salary! Not only did he blow, he has now cost us any flexibility, we could of had trade or otherwise! This entire infield needs to go, but I think Amaro’s metal is really going to be tested now! We’ll see how good of a GM, he is now. This is f^#@ing heartbreaking!! ¦`(

The Cardinal should have been more thankful after we swept the Braves and let them in. I know the purest would say if your good enough you should be able to beat anyone but the outcome might have been different if we rested our starters the final 2 games.

The hitting was not good. I cringed every time they hit one of those weak infield ground balls for an out. The Cardinals were the better team in this series (pitching defense and hitting) It was embarrasing to see Utley thrown out on two steal attempts and the 0 runs in game 5.

Do we have a hitting coach? Need to get a lineup who can work the count, walk, and advance runners. Strikeouts are not productive. Check out “Three Nights in August” which shows how Larusso thinks and tries to work the count to remove starting pitcher. Need people who can carry a higher average and make fewer outs.

dcar it was a terrible loss, I was at the game, a funeral precession of 46+ thou came out of cpb in disgust, we knew Howard would choke, Polly is ancient, ruiz can’t hit, Ibanez suspect, I need a well deserved sabbatical from everything Philly sports

I guess my Prediction of the Phils coming up short again was not so off the mark after all.. That their inconsistent Batting all Season and their age has caught up with team as I thought ans stated it would. They collectively look old, a step behind and just not very athletic at all…I thought their struggling Bullpen would be an issue in this Series but the bullpen actually pitched well and it all goes back to Lee blowing a 4-0 Lead at home in Game #2 as the turning point.. If he pitches like he usually does, Game #2 is for the Phils and problaby the Series too…
I thought Manuel left Oswalt in too long in game #4 and should have pulled him after from being up 2-1 to going down 3-2 in the 5th Inning.. This years Oswalt was not the same Pitcher of his past years, the injuries, the family issues, He just wasn’t on his Top game all season and the Manuel should have been happy to get a solid 5 innings instead of sending him back out there and giving up that 2 Run Home to make it a 5-2 deficit in game 4 ….
I get labled a hater for not predicting a Phillie World Series winner and that’s ok, The Phils are my favorite Baseball team and I was always root for them, but I will call out deficiencies when I see them and I just cannot blindly listen to the hype from the teams,local & national media,local fans, talk shows and blogs about any team.. I will watch and study how a team is put together, how they are coached and prepare, and finally perform and then make my own evaluations… but in the end, I would much rather be wrong personally. and for my favorite teams (Eagles and Phils) to win and be successful, but I guess I have been disappointed so many times in the past with these teams that I have become too cynical and pessimistic..

The Phillies didn’t disgrace themselves or the city…What they did was come up short, and look like they had somehow lost their spark…Why?…I don’t know…The pitching, both starting & relief, was good, but Lee and Oswalt had less than stellar outings…The hitting was terrible, and the Phils showed a terrible lack of discipline and patience at the plate…The defense was not up to standard, and some defensive alignments were questionable, allowing the Cards to get some cheap hits…Manuel was out-managed by LaRussa.

Keep in mind, however, that with the current playoff format, a team that gets hot at just the right time can steal a series…If this were the ‘old days’ the Phillies and Yankees would be squaring off right now in the World Series…But, money rules, so you have a playoff system that makes the regular season lose it’s value.

But the Phillies didn’t disgrace us…That term could more readily be applied to the team across the street and their coach.

Pete60–Howard already lead the Phils to the big one–or did you sleep though the ’08 season?

Paulman–all of those players you list have expiring contracts except for Francisco. And now that Howard has a ruptured Achilles, they’ll probably keep him for depth.

It was disappointing, but reminded me of the Phils of 76-78 and ’83–they all had gaudy stats in the regular season but did squat in the playoffs. I think one year Schmidt and Luzinski hit around .125 in the playoffs.

As far as them having the chance to eliminate the Cards during their homestand in September, let’s not put ALL the blame on the Phils. I have a running disagreement on another fan board–the Braves are the biggest culprit for getting the Cards in the playoffs–9-18 in Sept–and before the Phils swept them in the last series of the year, let’s not forget the Braves lost 2/3 to both the Fish and Nats (or Mets) in their final road trip of the season. And the last series in Atlanta, the Braves pitched Beachy who was supposedly solid for them; Lowe, and Tim Hudsn, their ace. The Phils pitched Cliff Lee for 6 innings in the first game; Oswalt in the 2nd game, and started Joe Blanton in the 3rd game. What does it say about a team, with it’s playoff hopes hinging on winning, they can’t push the winning run across, AT HOME, against the likes of Schwimer, Stutes, DeFratus, and Herndon for 5 innings???